Bloodshed and Heartbreak
by xX-The-Mad-Man-With-A-Box-Xx
Summary: It wasn't supposed to be a rescue mission. They didn't even know he was going to be here, and none of them would have even imagined the sight they saw before them. The thought on Jace's face was easy to read. What about Alec?


**A/N - This came when TheName'sBob and I were discussing what we thought would happen in the next book...**

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**Bloodshed and Heartbreak**

When blood falls to the ground, the way the crimson droplets plunge down as if in slow motion and splash into the puddle below as it spreads and falls into the cracks and crevices of the cold stone floor.

It is truly fascinating.

They say silence is deafening, and in that second all Clary could hear was her own blood pounding in her ears and clouding her vision, and his blood dripping consistently onto the ground. It was as if someone had pressed pause on the video player. Isabelle stood to the side, her whip raised, her hair matted, her clothing torn and a look of sheer horror on her face. Simon gritted his teeth; his hand's clenched into fists. Clary knew it was her fault he was there in the first place, he should have been living a normal life, with normal friends and not here witnessing this. But now was not the time for thoughts such as that.

Jace stood apart from the three of them. He was next to the grey archway that served as the only entrance to the chamber. His body was turned away from them, but he had twisted as he heard Isabelle's gasp and had frozen. The thought on his face was easy to read. _What about Alec?_

It wasn't supposed to be a rescue mission. They didn't even know he was going to be here, and none of them would have even imagined the sight they saw before them. The many centuries Magnus had lived, many trials and curses, this hadn't even crossed their mind as a possibility.

He hung there horizontally. Chains suspending him about a metre above the pentagram etched into the floor. Black and ominous they enclosed his neck, waist and eyes where the worst part. They were just visible. His eyelids had been peeled off, leaving a dark red ring circling them. A change from his usual flamboyant makeup. His pupils were fully dilated and there was none of the usual sparkle they had come to recognise.

They were completely dead. He was completely dead. Magnus Bane, the man that all of them owed their lives to many times over, was dead. There was now no way now of repaying their debts to him.

Simon was the first to move. Suddenly Clary couldn't see the body anymore, as Simon pressed her against his chest in a tight hug. With one arm he reached out and took Isabelle's hand, squeezing it gently. She didn't react. Clary reached up and fisted her hands into Simon's t-shirt, trying to block out the sounds of the warlock's blood dripping steadily.

Drip.

Drip.

Drip.

And then they heard footsteps.

Alec had been performing one last perimeter check before ascending the staircase to join them. Although he and Jace had checked 5 separate times to make sure no one or thing was in building. Alec had remained uneasy, and despite Jace and Isabelle's objections, had checked one last time, making the rest of them go on ahead.

Time slowed as he walked up the stairs, his footsteps gradually getting louder and louder.

Thud.

Thud.

Thud.

Drip.

Drip.

Drip.

Clary could hear the exact moment his heel touched the ground and how he rolled his foot as he walked.

"Jace!" he called, seeing his brother in the doorway. "I guess you were right, there is nothing here, I was just being paranoid."

"I'm always right." Jace murmured. Their voices echoed around the room.

"So did you find anything up here then?" More footsteps as Alec walked forward.

"No!" Jace yelled and put his hand out to stop Alec moving any closer towards the room. Clary, Simon and Isabelle turned their heads to the doorway.

"What's got into you toda... Oh." It was then Alex's turn to freeze as he saw the man he loved hanging from the ceiling. He met each person's eyes as he glanced around the room, the terror slowly sinking into his ice blue eyes. His gaze then shifted to Magnus. "Jace" He said quietly, "Let me go to him."

"I can't." Jace replied.

Alec tried to push past him, but Jace managed to brace himself against the wall and hold Alec back.

The raven haired boy struggled, trying to break free of the blonde's tight grip. He started yelling: Yelling for his lover to wake up, for Jace to let go, for Clary to think of an 'undead' rune to use. But even he knew that it was too late. You could tell the exact moment it dawned on Alec that he truly was dead. His face fell, the light in his eyes faded and tears fell down his cheeks, glistening in the light of the room. Jace could feel his pain, the fraction he was feeling was enough to send him to his knees as the parabati hugged each other tightly.

Unshed tears clouded Isabelle's eyes as she dropped Simon's hand and walked over to her two brothers. She knelt down alongside them and placed her arm over Alec's back. She rested her head against his shoulder blade as he cried.

Clary turned back to Simon, who pressed his lips gently to the top of her head.

They were too young for this bloodshed and heartbreak.

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A/N - I'M SORRY OKAY


End file.
